Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

The European Union is considering whether to launch two new missions in Africa.

“We are working on the crisis management concepts for two potential new missions: a military mission in Mali and a civilian mission in Libya that will focus on border management particularly,” said the EU’s High Representative Catherine Ashton at a meeting of the Security and Defence Subcommittee of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee here on Nov. 7. November. . .

As for Mali, Ashton’s spokesperson said that “in accordance with a mandate given to it by the Foreign Affairs Council of 15 October, the European External Action Service is currently working on a crisis management concept relating to the training and modernization of Malian forces. Direct military support from the EU in future operations by the Malian Army is not envisaged. During the Foreign Affairs Council of 19 November, the high representative will present the first results of this approach to EU member states”.

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

Mali: Ansar Al-Din New Position Raises Questions

Ansar al-Din vowed to find a "negotiated constructive solution for the Malian crisis with all national forces that represent the interim authorities in Mali, and with all other Malian armed groups", the group said in a statement read by delegation member Mohamed Aharid.

"Based on that, we announce a stop of all acts of violence to guarantee the free movement of persons and properties and facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid at areas under our control," the group said.

Ansar al-Din "rejects all forms of extremism and terrorism and is committed to fighting cross-border organised crime", the statement concluded.

Fellow Touareg separatists, however, questioned the sincerity of the statement.

Former members of the LIFG are now the Libyan Islamists who are attacking embassies, the Red Cross, Libyan officials, Sufi shrines & schools, and foreign ideas that won't work in Libya (like democracy).

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

Where will the new troops come from?

West African nations on Friday plotted a military force to retake Islamist-occupied northern Mali as ministers met on a strategy that included a possible expanded mission of 5,500 troops.

The proposal discussed by foreign and defence ministers from the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) could see the bloc commit 3,200 troops and other countries a further 2,300...

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

So here it is... the declaration of the Independence of Azawad, signed this day by Bilal Ag Acherif, secretary general of the MNLA. The declaration cites articles 1 and 55 of the A charter, the letter of May 30th 1958 written by some tribal chiefs to General de Gaulle, the ill-judged attachment of Azawad to Mali by the French in 1960, the massacres of 1963, 1990, 2006, 2011 and 2012, the 'inhuman behaviour' of Mali during the droughts of 1967, 1973, 1984 and 2010, and more than 50 years of bad governance, corruption and military-politico-financial collusion of Mali in Azawad, and "IRREVOCABLY PROCLAIMS THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF AZAWAD FROM THIS DAY FORWARD FRIDAY 6th APRIL 2012." Will Ag Acherif go down as the Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams of a proud and long lasting new nation, or a bit-player in a blip of history... we shall see! And which foreign country will be the first to recognize this new nation (my money is on France). Whatever happens, this is a historic day in the eyes of many.

We, people of the AZAWAD, by the voice of the National Movement for the liberation of Azawad after consultation with: the Executive Committee, the Council revolutionary, the Advisory Board, the staff of the Liberation Army, the regional offices Recalling the principles of international law and the main international legal instruments governing the right of peoples to self-determination, in particular, the Charter of the United Nations in its articles 1 and 55the relevant provisions of the International Declaration of the rights of indigenous peoples;

Whereas, the will explicitly expressed in the letter dated May 30, 1958 to French President by notables, guides spiritual of all components of the AZAWAD;

Whereas in 1960, on the granting of independence to West Africans, the France peoples linked without her consent the AZAWAD the Malian State that it has created;

Recalling the massacres, atrocities and humiliation, theft and genocides in 1963, 1990, 2006, 2010 and 2012, which were covered exclusively the people of the AZAWAD until April 1, 2012;

Recalling, the inhuman behaviour of Mali who used different drought (1967, 1973, 1984, 2010….) to disappear our people by annihilation even it has sought and received generous humanitarian assistance;

Whereas the accumulation more of 50 years of bad governance, corruption and collusion politico military financial, endangering the existence of the people of the AZAWAD and endangered subregional stability and international peace;

Whereas, the full release of the AZAWAD territory;

Irrevocably, proclaim the State independent of the AZAWAD from this day Friday 06 April 2012.

DECLARE: The recognition of borders in force with the neighbouring States and inviolability;

The total adherence to the Charter of the United Nations;

The strong commitment of the MNLA to create the conditions for lasting peace, to initiate the institutional foundations of the State based on a democratic Constitution of the independent Azawad.

The Executive Committee of the MNLA invites the whole of the international community in a spirit of justice and peace to recognize without delay the AZAWAD independent State.

The Executive Committee of the MNLA until the establishment of the territorial authority of the AZAWAD will continue to ensure the management of the whole of the territory.

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

Some prominent American universities and pension funds, among other wealthy foreign investors, are allegedly purchasing huge tracts of land in Africa -- acts that may lead to the eviction of thousands of local farmers, according to a study by the Oakland Institute (Oakland Institute), a California-based think tank.

U.S. educational institutions, including Harvard University, as well as pension funds, are using UK hedge funds and European financial speculators to acquire large agricultural properties thousands of miles away on the African continent.

Many of these lands are being taken in order to develop biofuel production, in place of normal food production.

Oakland Institute said in the report that the investors have little or no accountability in these transactions, while providing them with greater control over food supply for the world's poor.

This is very, very scary, said Anuradha Mittal, executive director of Oakland Institute.

Oakland Institute researchers claim that many of these western investors are getting arable land very cheaply and are generally not required to create jobs for the locals in exchange for the acquisitions.

For example, Oakland Institute cited, a foreign investment group was able to acquire 100,000 hectares of fertile land in Mali for a 50-year term for free.

The buyers are also apparently not observing labor and environmental rules.

Investment in agriculture is very important, but the question is what kind of investment, said Mittal.

The pace of land buying has been phenomenal. In 2009, nearly 60 million hectares – an area the size of France -- of African lands were purchased or leased, Oakland Institute stated.

Most of these deals are characterized by a lack of transparency, despite the profound implications posed by the consolidation of control over global food markets and agricultural resources by financial firms, says the Oakland Institute report.

Oakland Institute concedes that the rush to buy farmland has, in some cases, been encouraged by the African governments themselves who are desperate to modernize farming methods and increase crop yields in order to feed rising populations.

For example, The Malian Investment Promotion Agency provides Western investors access to land as well as the ability to move profits out of the country

International investors who are involved in these deals are not accountable to anyone.

Many of these African land deals are conducted through Emergent Asset Management, a London-based firm which is run by former currency dealers from JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

We had talked about water, oil, and uranium... But I didn't know about the land...

Quoting: DarbyDoom

neither did i. i posted some info on another forum i go to and an investor told me about the land grabs. i have been trying to locate investment firms and foundations that are buying water rich land in Africa, competing with China and India.

for some reason, i get this feeling that the multi-national corporation, ITT, and its subsidiarities, are somehow involved as they are not only involved in water but also defense and security contracting. the problem i am having is digging through the web of financial sector to follow the investing funds. somewhere in there, there is the connection.

also, thank you for all the work you have done. i will do what i can to contribute to this event as we are watching it unfold. it would seem that currently the media is using emotionally based stories to get the masses personally attached to the area and people in an attempt to pave the way for 'humanitarian' aide.

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

Middle East On-line (which is a USG publication) just updated us on who might be supplying at least some of the additional 2,500 troops needed...

West Africa plots expanded military force in north Mali

Talks among West African nations on a strategy to retake Mali's Islamist-held north have included plans for an expanded mission of 5,500 troops, including those from outside the region, a source familiar with the talks said Friday.

Representatives from South Africa, Mauritania, Morocco, Libya, Algeria and Chad would also be invited to participate in a regional summit on the military strategy set for Sunday in the Nigerian capital Abuja, the source said. . .

"They are recommending to the summit 5,500 troops as against the initial proposition of 3,200 by ECOWAS. The difference is expected to be contributed by non-ECOWAS states which have signified interest to contribute troops."

Mauritania, Algeria & Morocco originally said they were out... That leaves South Africa, Libya & Chad...

South Africans are mostly Christians...(that caused issues in Somalia)

Libya no longer has an armed forces (they didn't survive the NATO no-move zone imposed upon them)... Which means we are left with Libya Shield Forces.... Those would be the thuggish, but comically incompetent, militias we created in 2011. Geraldo Rivera said they were the most incompetent and dangerous (to themselves) fighting forces he had ever seen. Geraldo may be a joke, but he's been to many war zones - so that was quite a diss...

Anyway, I'm sure the Libyan Shield forces have gotten their act together by now. Along with their recent long-range shelling exercises in Bani Walid, they've been fighting the evil Tebu in Kufra & Sabha, killing hundreds, since March of 2012... You see the Tebu are African tribesmen who have no right to be in Libya. They need to go back home to Chad...

And what's the other country who might contribute forces? Oh that's right Chad...

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

Looks like its back to Chad & Libya...

An international military intervention into Mali at this time would be useless, a top advisor to Algeria’s president said Saturday.

Kamal Rezzag Bara, terrorism and security advisor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, . . said internationalizing the crisis would only “aggravate the situation” and he that Mali itself should be helped to come up with a roadmap and agreement involving all the actors to resolve the crisis.

“The question in Mali is an internal matter and there is no need to further internationalize it,” he said.

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

Meet The Millionaires And Billionaires Suddenly Buying Tons Of Land In Africa

Oakland Institute just completed the most thorough investigative report on who's buying land in Africa we've seen yet: "Hedge Funds Grabbing Land in Africa," as BBC called it.As commodities prices rise and inflation picks up, the OI made the report public, they say, because the number of investors buying up land in Africa concerns them.

For obvious reasons, there isn't much out there about who's buying what and how much in Africa. But what OI has discovered is a small number of investors paying sometimes nothing for large plots of land in some African countries.

The lease deals are arranged between seemingly corrupt African leaders, reportedly without disclosing the details to the members of the communities that will be displaced because of the land development, and investors such as hedge fund managers.

The end result -- beating villagers, digging up their cemeteries, and taking over land that villagers have lived on for centuries -- looks a lot like a less cruel version of what history tells us colonizing Americans did when they ousted the Indians, according to this one report anyway.

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

...but don't worry...no one is paying attention...

Quoting: DarbyDoom

^this.

while digging through the layers of propaganda being used, i ran across an article that made mention of when Romney brought up Mali in the debates and said that, that was not on any notes for the night.

i took it as, it was thrown in the last minute by XXX, planting the seeds to the american people.

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

Peace talks are in their seventh day, they started November 4th because the uncertainty of the US election. Looks like posturing just to stall and negotiate for "humanitarian aid" before the UN plan is approved on or before December first.

Thing that scares me the most, the peace talks are calling for people to return to their homes in northern Mali. This is how you end up with child conscripts and more foreign hostages.

Snip;The BBC's Mathieu Bonkoungou in the Burkinabe capital, Ouagadougou, says Ansar Dine representatives said in a declaration, after meeting President Compaore, that the group would allow free passage to anyone in its territory wanting to deliver humanitarian aid.

The declaration also called for refugees to return to their homes "and the creation of an environment conducive to adopting and implementing a full peace agreement that addresses all the deep causes of the crisis", AFP news agency reports.

Ansar Dine would also urge other armed groups to enter into dialogue with the authorities in Bamako, it said.

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

AERIAL RESOURCES, LOGISTICS & INTELLIGENCE - The United States

Quoting: DarbyDoom

Well, if the unfortunate happens it will be a good thing that logistics and intelligence will be provided by US imo, Danish military was very caustic of their European partners in a recent report of theirs regarding missions in Libya, they said that when US wasn't giving intelligence and organizing the missions all hell broke loose with civilians casualties by Anglo-French missions, they pretty much said they were amateurs and pulled out of the rest of their Libya missions.

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

IT'S OFFICIAL - ECOWAS Troops in Mali by December

West African regional leaders have agreed to deploy 3,300 soldiers to Mali to retake the north from Islamist extremists.

At a summit of Ecowas, the group's chairman said it was ready to use force to "dismantle terrorist and transnational criminal networks".

The soldiers would be provided mainly by Nigeria, Niger and Burkina Faso.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Outtara told reporters in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, that the soldiers could be deployed as soon as the UN approved the military plan.

He said he hoped the Security Council would approve the plan by late November or early December.

According to a Malian army source quoted by Reuters, the plan covers a six-month period, with a preparatory phase for training and the establishment of bases in Mali's south, followed by combat operations in the north.

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

AERIAL RESOURCES, LOGISTICS & INTELLIGENCE - The United States

Quoting: DarbyDoom

Well, if the unfortunate happens it will be a good thing that logistics and intelligence will be provided by US imo, Danish military was very caustic of their European partners in a recent report of theirs regarding missions in Libya, they said that when US wasn't giving intelligence and organizing the missions all hell broke loose with civilians casualties by Anglo-French missions, they pretty much said they were amateurs and pulled out of the rest of their Libya missions.

Quoting: insertfunnyusername

I've also read that...As part of the whole fiasco of the Danes releasing blacked-out documents that could be un-blacked-out w/ only a push of a button...The Israel bomb weapons used on Libya was a big revelation...

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

This should go well...Libya Part II...Tribal Militia wants to join fight...

The head of a militia in northern Mali said Friday that his men were "ready for war" alongside West African troops against armed Islamists controlling the region.

"Currently, people are ready for war against these people because they have finally realized that they no longer deal with Muslims but to terrorists," he told AFP Seydou Cissé, Malian Fulani tribe member and responsible for the militia Ganda-Iso....

"We have 2,000 young people who are trained in Mopti (center of Mali, in the government zone, ie) and ready to fight, it is necessary that the son of the soil release their area," he argued, stressing that the troops ground would "need air strikes targeted".

Re: Watch as it Develops - The Staged War Against Islamists in Northern Mali

Looks Like Mauritania & Algeria are REALLY against the war...

--Mauritania--

Mauritania warned Monday that the fallout from a military strike against the Islamist extremists controlling northern Mali could be devastating and affect the troubled country's neighbours.

"This country which has for a long time been seen as a model of democracy is like a volcano about to erupt," national assembly president Messaoud Ould Boulkheir said... "If this volcano awakens, it will dump incandescent ashes over its neighbours," he told parliament. "As we share a common border and since the interests of our peoples are closely interwoven, our country cannot just stand by," he added...

--Algeria--

Regional powerhouse Algeria meanwhile renewed its call for a political solution to the Mali crisis.

"We have not stopped emphasising that a way out of the crisis, through dialogue between the Malian authorities and the rebel groups in the north, is completely possible," foreign ministry spokesman Amar Belani told AFP.